Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano (1745-31 March 1797) was a Nigerian-British abolitionist, former slave, and writer. He purchased his own freedom in 1766 and became an activist, sharing his story of being taken as a slave, being abused by his masters, and earning his freedom.

Biography
Olaudah Equiano was born in present-day southern Nigeria in 1745, and he was enslaved as a child and taken to the British Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy captain, who renamed him "Gustavus Vassa" after King Gustav I of Sweden. He was later resold to a Quaker trader, and he earned his freedom in 1766 by intelligent trading and careful savings. Equiano later moved to London and became an active abolitionist, supporting the anti-slave trade movement of the 1780s. In 1789, he published his autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, which recounted his horrific experiences as a slave, and it went through nine editions and influenced the 1807 ban on the African slave trade. He later converted to Protestant Christianity, ending periods of suicidal thoughts and depression and bringing him peace. He died in Nottingham in 1797.